Condi Rice declines Rutgers commencement address

posted at 9:31 am on May 4, 2014 by Jazz Shaw

You’d probably imagine that it would come as quite the feather in your cap for any university to land a commencement speaker who was both a former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor. Such was the enviable position that Rutgers found itself in after booking Condoleezza Rice as their guest of honor this year. Or at least it was until a number of their students – and professors! – protested the decision. After not much time at all, Rice put an end to the debate by cancelling the gig.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University following protests by some faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War.

Rice said in a statement Saturday that she informed Rutgers President Robert Barchi that she was declining the invitation to speak at the graduation.

“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families,” Rice said. “Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time.”

The response by the faculty in particular was fertile ground for a lot of bad jokes in the headlines, given that schools are ostensibly in business to support open debate and the exchange of ideas. For one excellent example, see Awful School Is Awfully Intolerant. Adding to the implausible nature of the story was the reason given by the editorial board at Rutgers newspaper.

The largest student newspaper, The Daily Targum, also urged the school to reconsider in a strong editorial that said that none of their commencement speakers should have “questionable politics.”

Seriously? I thought questionable politics was essentially the cornerstone of modern debate. Everyone’s political views will wind up being questionable to somebody. But perhaps the conclusion to this is all for the best, as noted by Rick Moran.

The Rutgers community has every right to make their feelings known about Condi Rice addressing their grads. But they are losing far more than they win when Rice does the classy thing and turns down the invite. It’s easy to place your hands over your ears and shut out ideas you disagree with. It is so much harder — and far more honorable — to open your mind in order to listen to someone with whom you have little in common.

One other question comes from this story. How is it that Condi Rice only gets $35K for a speaking appearance? Have you seen what Bill Clinton pulls in? Surely this is the War on Women.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

This is the future of academic debate, I suppose. Which interest group can force out more guest speakers than any other wins. It’s been over a decade since I have been in the loop with the college scene, but I do remember it being fashionable to show up dressed as Arafat when an Israeli was speaking at a conference.

Now, you see, I had a real comment and was so afraid that I’d write the comment, add my “Bishop” and then look like a fool (again) when it turned out to be the third or fourth comment instead. So, I just fired off a single “Bishop”.

I’m pathetic.

I originally agreed with a commenter yesterday who took the road that she wasn’t being very brave with her decision. That she should have forced her right to accept the invitation and do the commencement. But this …

“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families,” Rice said. “Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time.”

This is just pure class and it’s hard to fault her sincerity and reasoning. Liberals win another small engagement that they cheat at to win, but lose sight of the bigger virtue they profess to advocate. Their “free speech” is limited to you parroting exactly what they believe.

Apparently, she’s the wrong shade of black. Did Rutger’s choose her on purpose, knowing that some students and faculty would protest, just to stick it to the right-wing? No racism or hate on women called into question here? Diversity goes only skin deep.

Condoleeza Rice is a conservative, obviously. Not as conservative as me, and too much of an interventionist, but I never have cause to think she’s BSing, and really wants to be a lefty. That’s rare. Too bad she doesn’t want to run for office.

BTW, somehow ‘Barack’ made it into spell check, but ‘Condoleeza’ still hasn’t. That tells you something right there.

Their “free speech” is limited to you parroting exactly what they believe.

hawkdriver on May 4, 2014 at 9:42 AM

Well that is what leftism is all about. The interesting thing is that they are too stupid to even grasp that concept. It’s no wonder that the bulk of the leftist are considered useful idiots. Back in my day I use to get a real kick out of all the “non-conformists” that dressed and acted exactly the same way in order to prove that they don’t conform. Just more useful idiots.

The Daily Targum, also urged the school to reconsider in a strong editorial that said that none of their commencement speakers should have “questionable politics.”

I’m sure that nobody would have a problem with Ayers speaking in her place. After all, his politics are theirs without question.

Rice is a class act. And kudos go out to Rutgers for refusing to be pressured to withdraw Rice’s invitation.

The Rutgers Racists can go to heeel

TX-96 on May 4, 2014 at 9:38 AM

When I first heard about this story, I got in an argument on reddit, and with one of my liberal buddies that evening, where I said if Rice (or any black conservative/Republican) was a liberal and was asked to speak at a conservative-leaning university, and there was a small faction of students who protested, they’d be called “racists” by the liberals faster than a runaway locomotive. And anyone I mentioned that to agreed, and said they would be racists…because, of course, conservatives are…by default…racists anyway.

According the the liberals who sided with opponents of Rice as speaker at Rutgers, they say it had nothing to do with politics (yeah, right) but was about her alleged status as a “war criminal”. And only Republicans can be that, undoubtedly.

The Daily Targum, also urged the school to reconsider in a strong editorial that said that none of their commencement speakers should have “questionable politics.”

Liberals always forget that conservatives are listening exist when they think they’re safe in their own little bubbles. No matter how many times it happens, it’s always a cold bucket of water to the face to discover there are normal, intelligent people out there who– gasp! — disagree with them.

Bishop for quite a while had been first (still is, AFAIK) on a lot of QOTD threads. If someone else got there first, in honor of him, they’d shout, “Bishop!” instead of the traditional “first!” I think a morphin’ meme’s always a good thing. :)

Er. Rutgers in in New Jersey and takes state money. I seriously think that the peop;le of New Jersey should secede and joun Russia or the New Soviet Union if they tolerate these actions from paid state academics. If funding is not cut off, then Rutgers should be closed, along with the rest of the librul indoctrination centers. Albert Einstein would be ashamed of his former institution. Either fully open politics to all at the university or keep politics completely out. If you don’t have the cajones to buck the marxist staff then terminate all protesting students. Under academic freedom doctrine, universities should only allow protests by libruls. See what happens to conservative students that don’t protest, but try to have open discussions. Universities are for open discussion and discussion of ideas not stifling ideas with protests. If you have to protest than your ideas are worthless.

“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families,” Rice said. “Rutgers’ invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time.”

This is why we don’t win in the marketplace of ideas. My response would have been:
“No, I won’t withdraw. You invited me because you think I have something worthwhile to say to your graduates on this important day. I happen to think I do, as well. So, if you don’t want me showing up, then you will have to disinvite me, and the onus will be on you. As to those who would shut down reasonable discourse simply because they disagree with my politics, grow up. And that applies in particular to the professors at this institution who are involved in the attempt to censor me. Grow up.”

Bishop for quite a while had been first (still is, AFAIK) on a lot of QOTD threads. If someone else got there first, in honor of him, they’d shout, “Bishop!” instead of the traditional “first!” I think a morphin’ meme’s always a good thing. :)

Eviva on May 4, 2014 at 10:45 AM

Gotcha…thanks! Been wanting to ask that for a while, but didn’t want to come off as a noob.

“It’s easy to place your hands over your ears and shut out ideas you disagree with.”

“… none of their commencement speakers should have “questionable politics.”

Well actually, the reason they opposed Rice was for her history in the Bush administration – and not her “politics” or ” ideas” post-Bush.

Other than calling herself a Republican, Rice is quite liberal. Rice is pro-abortion, which should endear her to any chowderhead liberal, plus, almost every speech and interview that she has given over the past year or so, has been focused on pushing amnesty. Rice has a long history of pushing amnesty – even going so far as to say that one of the greatest regrets of her time in George W. Bush’s administration was not seeing the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill enacted into law.

Is this what liberals call “questionable politics”? This was just a knee-jerk reaction to Rice’s name and her connection to George Bush – they don’t even know what she stands for.

Yes, Rutgers is losing far more than they gain by opposing Rice – they are losing a chance to hear powerful, black, female Republican push liberal ideas with which most of their students and staff agree.

A recent event in Los Angeles, California bizarrely illustrates the madhouse that unfettered application of Political Correctness has created in America. Morality has become a land of shifting sands and anyone can get slapped down like a miscreant at a moment’s notice. A local college sought a commencement speaker for their graduation ceremony.

The first person chosen was a homosexual male. Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black was invited to be Pasadena City College’s commencement speaker. But, before the speech date, sex pics surfaced of this man with a boyfriend, and leaked onto the Internet. Embarrassed, the school invited another speaker—Pasadena Public Health Director Eric Walsh. Yet, before Walsh could deliver, tapes of him next surfaced. He is also pastor of a local Christian denomination, where he condemned the local school district for pandering to gays, and he slammed evolution.

And so what did the school do? What any upstanding, modern, socially aware, educational institution would do in this situation—they re-invited the first man pictured performing homosexual acts. (The amateur gay porn star has yet to respond.)

“Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families,” Rice said.

Some of them would have enjoyed seeing what a learned conservative black woman with spine looked like, Condi, and perhaps even taken a grain of wisdom away from it, to complement four years of indoctrination in leftism. Sorry girl, you failed them.

Leftwing Rutger’s students succeed in shutting up a bossy, pro-amnesty black woman.

I don’t really like that, on principle, but I’m having trouble getting worked up about it. These are the same kind of fanatical young leftwing socialists Condi is all for letting jump our border and further erode our American culture based on tolerance, open mindedness and critical thinking.

I suppose it depends on what kind of a scene the opposition is planning on making. If it’s just a few disgruntled naysayers, then you’re correct. But if it’s a scene like when Ann Coulter or a genuine conservative comes to town, then, why bother? Nothing can get through the chaos they have in store anyway and it just becomes a scene.

I suspect that in this case there would probably have been, at the most, a few sign carriers on the sidelines with the majority being respectful so you’re on good ground here.

Except for the part about conservatives. Condi’s attractive on many levels, not the least being here looks, but she’s no conservative. Pork Chop has it exactly right. I suspect I’m simply enjoying the irony of them agitating for the removal of someone with whom they actually have a lot in common with.

Still, as I say, at this point in my life I’m convinced that the die is cast so why waste efforts on those who no longer want to hear what you have to say. Save it for those who do.

Besides, I seriously doubt Condi would have addressed the real problems you are addressing anyway. I have no indication that she even understands them herself.

This is the future of academic debate, I suppose. Which interest group can force out more guest speakers than any other wins. It’s been over a decade since I have been in the loop with the college scene, but I do remember it being fashionable to show up dressed as Arafat when an Israeli was speaking at a conference.

I can’t help but think that the Rutgers professors and students would not be crazy about Biden, Hillary, or Kerry speaking at Rutgers either. If they were welcomed by Rutgers in the future, one could only surmise that the refuseniks were liberal racists. Not as rare a combination as you might think.

Rutgers is actually nothing but the University of New Jersey. It is a fully State supported school. Some of Hot Air’s readers have confused this entirely undistinguished state school with Princeton, the great New Jersey Ivy League school.

Dr. Rice is certainly not a snob and I can understand why she might consider, as a full Stanford Professor and former very senior government official, accepting a speaking invitation from such a mediocre state school. This nothing school has lost a very fine speaker due to the rude behavior of their faculty and students. Rutgers is an academic joke compared to the great Stanford and is also very lucky not to have to face Stanford on the football field.

Sec. Rice, demonstrated she is a class act. When informed by opposition of pending demonstrations etc. to disrupt graduation ceremonies. Ms. Rice declined to appear with dignity and respect which focused on the student and parent relationship vice her and her points of view which offended only a small percentage of the entire student body of Rutgers.

Sec. Rice, demonstrated she is a class act. When informed by opposition of pending demonstrations etc. to disrupt graduation ceremonies. Ms. Rice declined to appear with dignity and respect which focused on the student and parent relationship vice her and her points of view which offended only a small percentage of the entire student body of Rutgers.

Give me a break. Former Secretary Rice capitulated to a small and noisy minority who were looking to shut her up. They won and the free exchange of ideas (particularly conservative ideas) lost.

Period. End of story.

I’ll never understand people that argue otherwise. There is nothing classy or dignified about surrendering to campus fascists.

Makes a bold headline, no? Of course this is not how the story is presented by the MSM. It would only be reported this way, if Condi Rice were a liberal who was known for her hatred of America and speeches calling for the violent overthrow of all western democracies and killing of anyone who opposed those world views.

If protests were made against such a person making a commencement speech at any US college or universities, the MSM would be all over it, calling the protests ‘censorship’, and labeling the protestors ‘racist’.

I can say this with confidence, because events like these are not at all uncommon in recent years, and the press coverage of the events based on the politics involved is consistent enough to be predictable.

The whole special speaker outside of some great scholar – since education is the purpose of the university – is a farce and waste of money. The day is to celebrate academic achievement – that is all. The only good thing these events highlight is how close the educational money-making complex is to implosion and that will be good for all. And I say that as a PhD who has taught both college and grad classes. The 60s broke our great educational system, started us on the path towards lavish spending for little quality, and now are creating hundreds of thousands of broke and poorly trained young adults. The sooner this current model is destroyed the sooner we will have a better prepared workforce able to take risks because they are not buried in debt. The Rutgers mess is another example of Nero, Rome and the academic world simply getting reward for bonfires of their own vanity.

I was lucky enough to hear Condi Rice speak to a full auditorium in California a few years ago.

Condi gave one of the best speeches I had ever heard!

I admit to having been a big fan of Condi, before the speech. But her speech still exceeded my already very high expectations!

Her speech included a few minutes on the expected topics of Iraq and Afghanistan, but even more interesting was the info she provided on the wide range of issues the State Department was working on in the rest of the world.

In a 1 hour speech Condi transformed my understanding of the vast responsibilities of the Secretary of State.

Rutgers has just taken away an incredible opportunity for its students and their families to hear a speech from a brilliant woman. And that is a shame!